Tales of TCoC: Mercy Cain
Merry Slaaneshmas, Mercy Cain.
Slaanesh, Prince of Pleasure, was eagerly awaiting an offering from one of Their most peculiar of believers: Mercy Cain.
The little Elduan had proved to be quite a fascinating specimen. She honored and offered Them tributes, like any other worshiper of Theirs, but Slaanesh could hardly call Mercy as such. For the girl hadn't pledged her soul to Them in exchange of power or pleasure, instead she continued extending an olive branch of good will and friendship.
Foolish be the Mortals who dare try to curry favor in such an underhanded and presumptuous manner. Yet, there was no guile nor clever deception in the little Elduan's offerings, just a genuine desire to help.
And so with time, the Prince of Joy, had come to appreciate the rare succulent sapor of Sensations and Emotions that Mercy's little offerings provided.
Speaking of which, the current tribute was a selection of Six different flavored Cookies adorned with morsels of Six different kinds of sweets, and they were home baked too! Oh how thoughtful and adorable. Accompanying the plate of cookies there was a glass of brown-colored food liquid that Mercy had called Choco Milky.
After a bite and a sip, Slaanesh found that They quite enjoyed the mix of flavors that the combination of the cookies and chocolate flavored milk provided. But what They enjoyed the most was the emotions that were infused inside the offerings; the Joy and Happiness were always welcomed, but there was also Anticipation, Merriment, Wonder, Reverance, Thankfulness, and Whimsy.
… and a little bit of… Hesitation?
That last one was unexpected. Especially coming from the little Elduan, though upsetting enough it wasn't the first time Mercy's gifts contained such emotion.
It had happened when Mercy had learned more about the history of the Eldar and their religious beliefs. Which included Slaanesh's own birth.
Had Mercy not had gained Their favor beforehand, the Price would've missed the surge of emotions and feelings that the little Elduan experienced when she learned more about her roots.
Anguish, Grief, Sorrow, Unease, Shame, Mortification, Fear, Worry, Anxiousness, Doubt, Exhaustion; for many days these and many more mixed and tangled inside the mind and heart of Mercy.
Slaanesh received no offerings during those days.
Then from Mercy came new feelings: Realization, Recognition, Self-awareness, Understanding, Empathy, Hesitance, Self-consciousness, Sorry, Vulnerability, Fragility, Humbleness, Patience, Calmness and Care.
The next offer after so many days was another glass of water, with a handwritten card that read:
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
and
"It was not a mistake. Never a mistake. An accident, perhaps. But maybe a happy one. We just had a happy accident."
At first those words made no sense to Slaanesh, at least, until They took a sip of Mercy's offering and understood.
Mercy had been upset and hurt when she learned of the consequences of Their birth, the Genocide of Trillions and the true nature of their thirst. But then she sought to ask how and why.
The answers upset her even further. The Slow Fall of the Eldar Empire to Decadence and Debauchery had made her sick to her stomach and made her ashamed of her heritage.
And after several days of contemplation and mediation, Mercy came to realize that both she and Slaanesh shared similar origins.
Both were the result of the thoughtless and irresponsible acts of the beings that would ultimately create them. Neither of them were planned nor expected to come to being the way they were.
But while Mercy had come to the loving embrace of Father and Zerayah on a safe peaceful planet, Slaanesh had come into the chaotic and unwelcomed realm that is the Warp.
Newly born with so much power and in such a hostile environment, it was no wonder that Slaanesh had lashed the way They did. Mercy could never comprehend how confusing and horrifying Their first instance of self-awareness actually was. The sheer amount of emotions and feelings of an infinite amount of souls, both dead and alive, would've been overwhelming and unbearable.
If Mercy had been put in the same position, she too would've tried to silence it all for just a moment of respite.
And while some of the things she was told Slaanesh had done, by Their own hands or by proxy through Their servants, was upsetting; Mercy understood enough about the Warp to know that Slaanesh's actions - while horrid for a Mortal like her - were normal and logical for a Being that was born and resided in the Immaterium.
Mercy knew she was powerless to change any of it, to right the infinite amount of wrongs Slaanesh and their cohorts had committed and would commit. But nothing would ever change if no one gave Them the chance to even begin any change. Just like herself when she changed from Maeldanaiah Mortalyss to Mercy Cain.
And so she offered a glass of water, to help soothe Their thirst. Even if it was an insignificant amount to an Immortal God, or that it would take an Infinite amount of offers through an infinite amount of years to even begin to make a difference, Mercy still made the offer.
Why?
Because to reach infinity one must start with just One.
The God of Feelings had shed a tear after They grasped the meaning and tasted the emotions behind her written words.
Ever since then, Slaanesh had savored Mercy's offerings and their infused emotions as they slowly shifted from hesitant yet hopeful to a more warm affection.
So to taste Hesitance once more in Mercy's Tribute made Them speculate.
Thankfully, the milk and cookies came alongside a handwritten letter. Maybe that will explain things.
Apparently Mercy had read about the animals known as Horses and was quite curious about them. She had asked her father about them and pleaded for him to try and get her one. Sadly, none of the planets in the Protectorate contained any Horses; they had equivalent Xeno animals for sure, but not Terran Horses.
Mercy was disappointed when Cain explained how unlikely it would be for them to stumble upon a word in need of Liberation that contained such animals and that he refused to send people into Imperial words to sneak in and poach Terran Horses. It was too risky and unsafe for so little gain. And even if they succeeded, there was no way to tell if they could accommodate them on the Protectorate Planets without disturbing their ecosystems, nor if they would be comfortable at a Zoo.
This sort of story was not new to Slaanesh. Ever since that fool Cegorach had sent one of his Harlequins to deliver Mercy some books about Eldar Lore, the little Elduan had become fascinated by their myths and legends, especially about how Isha supposedly created all the non-eldari lifeforms in the Galaxy.
And with her desire to help, Mercy had decided to dedicate herself to help and cure, not only Humans and Eldar alike, but innocent animals as well, since the Panacea did not work on them. And with this newfound interest in zoology, Mercy had kept asking her father for more and more animal creatures she could meet and befriend. To some, Cain was happy to agree with, while others, such as the Terran Horses, were nothing but an unrealistic hope.
Despite all of these setbacks, not once did Mercy ask for Slaanesh's assistance. She would explain her dreams and desires but she never explicitly asked for Slaanesh to do anything about it. She would just talk to Them as if They were some sort of Living Diary, or a Friend who could not speak back.
It was nice.
But this time it was different. There was an underlying message within the written words. A small hint of cupidity alongside a bit of shame.
It appeared that Mercy, really, REALLY, wanted a Terran Horse.
It was very cute when she couldn't help but act her apparent age.
Then there was the last line of the letter.
"Hopefully, Father will surprise me with one for Sanguinala or Slaaneshmas."
Slaaneshmas?
Ah, yes. That Holiday.
While the origins of said celebration were hazy as they were gory, it had a resurgence in the Cainite Protectorate in a more sanitized manner. It was a seasonal holiday about family and merriment, and there were several traditions that were slowly tacked on as time passed. One example of that were the presents that supposedly Slaanesh themselves delivered to the Nice boys and girls while they were asleep.
Thankfully, Slaanesh did not have to actually deliver any presents, instead it was the parents and guardians of the children that presented the gifts as Slaanesh's. So the parents did all the work while They reaped the rewards of the children's affection and worship.
Convenient.
But, while Slaanesh had never given away any presents, it didn't mean They couldn't. So as a way to show Their favor, the Prince decided to deliver Mercy's most desired gift as a Slaaneshmas Miracle.
Besides, transporting a Terran Horse from one side of the Galaxy to another was easy enough. Not much effort on their part for such a perfect gift.
But would it? Be perfect, They mean.
Slaanesh was not forgetful enough to not recall the many reasons Cain had for not being able to acquire such a creature. Not only did it have to be able to live comfortably on Slawkenberg, they also needed to not be able to disrupt the natural environment on the planet.
Such concerns They wouldn't really care about normally. But this was a gift for her most peculiar believer. If there was something wrong with it, then she would be sad. So Slaanesh's Gift had to be perfect!
All They had to do was change the Horse a bit so that Cain could not raise any complaints about keeping it.
With a fingersnap, the Prince of Perfection was able to conjure and modify a horse to be Perfect.
Easy.
But now that They thought about it, the colors on the coat and mane could compliment each other better if They just changed the colors a bit.
There!
But… what about size? If it was too big Cain might not allow Mercy to keep it in her room. Just another little change.
That should do!
But what about maintenance? It would be bad if the Horse couldn't be kept healthy if the Protectorate lacked the proper food for it. Speaking of Health, Horses were notorious for breaking their legs and having to be put down, maybe if They made the Horse's bones more resistant… but if They did that They had to change the structure of the bones and joints to accommodate for the new material, not to mention new muscles and a new nervous system…
It didn't matter how much They had to change, it had to be Perfect!
Mercy deserved nothing less.
On Slaaneshmas Morning, Ciaphas Cain was surprised to find out he woke up to the sounds of blood curdling scream that hadn't come from his own throat, after a particularly nasty nightmare.
No, the scream was far too high-pitched to have come from any adult. So it must've belonged to a child.
And once he registered such words, Cain was on his feet and running towards the most likely source; Mercy. He was no stranger to the sound of Children Screaming - and wasn't that all sorts of fraked up - but the scream was too visceral to have come from a simple bad dream.
No, it was a scream born from sheer terror that would make lesser men lose their minds. He should know since he experienced it constantly in his life as the Liberator, inside his soundproofed chambers when he was completely alone.
When he arrived at the door that led to Mercy's room, Cain found out he wasn't the first one to arrive. Malicia had arrived first, which was not surprising since she was both an Eldar and Mercy's mother - no matter how much she pretended to not care for her child - but what was surprising was that he found her completely still at the door frame with her face frozen with an expression of sheer terror.
By the God Emperor! What sort of Horror had Malicia seen that had her completely frozen in fear? Her! A Dark Eldar! A Xeno species that delighted in inflicting fear and torture to any and all sentient they could!
Doing his best to calm his increasingly beating heart, Ciaphas Cain braved himself to enter his Clone Child's Room only to find…
The sounds of happy laughter.
Just, innocent and happy giggles that could only come from a jubilant child.
If only that was the only thing he had found.
Mercy was not alone when he entered her room. She was instead a top of a strange colorful creature that Cain's own shocked brain could only interpret as some Equine of sorts. And even that descriptor fell short, because it was unlike any other Steed he had ever seen.
Putting aside the garish colors of its coat and mane, the creature was shaped in what could be called a Childish Parody of what a Horse would look like; while it had hooves, mane and a horse's tail, its proportions were uncannily wrong, at least for those who had an idea of what a proper Equine actually was.
Specifically the face.
Its eyes were too big and its muzzle too short, it was as if they had tried to make a horse face appear as human as possible.
Oh, and did he mention the fact that it had a Horn on its forehead and a pair of wings on its torso. No? Well, it did.
Of course, none of this registered for Mercy, who was laughing and cheerfully clinging to the creature as it trotted around the room.
"Father, Father! Look what I got for Slaaneshmas!" Mercy merrily announced, with a look of pure joy in her face. "I was surprised when I woke up to find her in bed with me, but she's great! Can I keep her? Please!"
Well, that explained the scream. He too would've screamed if he woke up to find such an abomination on his bed next to him. But unlike his daughter, Cain would've not cling to the creature and gone for his trusted Chainsword instead.
"I think your mother has a say in this," Cain decided to deflect towards the still frozen Malicia, whose visage of terror hadn't lessened one bit.
"T-T-T-Tongue Lasher…!" She managed to utter after several stutters.
Tongue Lasher? Now where had he heard that name before?
"Also known as a Steed of Slaanesh." came the voice of Krystabel as she entered the room in a robe that was appropriate to wear in the presence of children. "They are swift and powerful Daemonic beasts, capable of running for eternity without ever tiring, and are often used as mounts by the champions of the Prince."
That did not reassure Cain in the slightest. In fact, it made him want to reach for his Bolt-Pistol, unfortunately he appeared to have left them on his nightstand when Emeli - in Krystabel's body - had come to his chambers to celebrate Slaaneshmas Eve the night before.
And that was without touching the implication that the Dark Prince considered Mercy to be one of their Mortal Champions.
"At least, that is what Malicia is referring to," Krystable added in. "This being - at a glance - might appear similar in some ways but they are not the same." She then went to explain in minute detail about all the apparent differences between the two creatures.
Whatever the case it might be, it was still a creature from the Dark Prince, since it bore Their Symbol on its flanks. A Cutie Mark, Mercy had called it.
Despite his personal feelings on the matter - which he could never utter otherwise it might break Mercy's heart - Cain could not get rid of the creature. It being a gift of Slaanesh themselves, meant that he risked their displeasure if he even attempted to try.
So with a deep breath, to calm his nerves, "Of course you can keep it." Cain said, sealing his fate. At this point, what was another monster that could violently kill him in his near proximity?
"Really?! Oh, I love you, Father!" Mercy cheered as she hugged him and sang him praises.
Well, at least someone was happy about the whole thing.
Now Cain had to figure out just HOW he was going to accommodate this new "Pet", while dealing with Malicia's nagging about it. But that could wait after he gets some Recaf. It was still too early for any of this trouble.
Notes
Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy IRL, with work and family stuff.
Not to mention, I fell down the Bleach rabbit hole, that I've been slowly crawling back from.
As for the chapter itself, I am not completely happy with it. Because it is 4 different Omakes that were cut and then mushed together, so if the pacing and vibe feels off, that is most likely the reason.
But since the Christmas Season is almost over, I decided to post it as it is or not post it at all.
As for the introduction of other Children of Cain, they are still on the back burner but I've been waiting for more of Akavisha to be shown.
So thanks for reading, and thanks Zahariel for his hard work and his amazing stories.
Have a Happy New Years to you all.